WEEK 6: story
This week, we dive into one of our favorite topics: story. We’ll explore how you can use concepts of storytelling for communicating effectively with data. Those attending lecture live on Monday, July 8 at 11AM ET will get an opportunity to iterate on their storyboard for their course project through the lens of story and get helpful feedback from classmates in a small group setting.
You can watch the story lecture recording below:
We’ll have two sessions of office hours this week. These are optional sessions that you can join to ask me questions or chat. Alternatively, if you aren’t able to attend a session this week you can submit a question here.
Meet with Simon on Thursday, July 11 at 6AM ET: click to join
Meet with Amy on Friday, July 12 at 1PM ET: click to join
Learning resources for this week
The following materials will reinforce and expand upon the lessons covered in this week’s lecture. They've been grouped into those that are required learning materials to tackle before lecture, some additional resources should you wish to explore topics to further embed your learning following lecture, and a synthesizing activity where you’ll have a chance to apply this week’s learnings to your final course project.
Review before lecture
choose a format that will help you learn best—select at least one from the section below
READ | storytelling with you chapter 4
form a story (pages 65–87)
Learn about the basic components of story; lessons we can draw from plays, movies, and books; and specific tactics to understand and apply as you plan your data stories.
LISTEN | SWD podcast episode 2: what is story?
listening time 36:51 (transcript)
Cole kicks things off with a very personal story then discusses generally how the presentation of data can be structured using story, sharing practical tips and techniques to employ.
WATCH | lessons from Oz: story in business
viewing time 38:42
Cole discusses the jagged mountain referred to in lecture and this week’s blog reading and uses it to map one of her favorite stories. Then she illustrates how this concept can be used with a real-world scenario to plan and deliver a robust narrative with data in a business setting.
Recommended resources
following lecture dive deeper into topics of your choosing
READ | when tension is high get to the point
The visual we use to describe the narrative arc structure depicts each section as roughly the same size, but in practice we can expand or contract each part as appropriate for our specific communication. Learn more in this blog article.
PRACTICE | diagram a story
Like pretty much every topic we are learning about, practice is key. In this short, optional exercise, you’ll be prompted to diagram a story you know well and consider what you can learn from this to apply to your data stories. It’s fun and fast! (Skip it if you’re time-constrained.)
WATCH | 5 easy tips for better data communication
viewing time 12:10
Cole shares simple tips to communicate data effectively in this short keynote presentation from the Data Analytics Career Summit virtual conference. These easy-to-implement techniques will benefit anyone needing to communicate something to someone.
LISTEN | SWD podcast eposode 62: tension in data stories
listening time 35:01
Tension is a key component of story—and can be used in powerful ways to communicate in a business setting. In this episode, Cole talks tension: what it is, why you should care, and how to identify and use it in your data stories and beyond.
Synthesize activity
required for certificate of completion
SYNTHESIZE | apply this week’s learnings to your course project
Complete the form your story exercise (only visible to course participants). Also, spend time reviewing your classmates’ narrative arcs and offer input.
Great job! You’ve explored story a number of different ways this week and started to practice using story to structure your ideas. Look for opportunities to work the components of story into your explanatory data communications: it’s by practicing and refining that it becomes a natural part of your process. Story can be a powerful tool to get your audience’s attention and connect with them in ways that will make them care and act.
Next week… We’ll turn our attention back to our content and discuss presentation planning. See you then!